2015 MusicRow Awards Nominees Revealedby Sarah Skates

Ballots will Be emailed to musicrow suBscriBers in

tHe aFternoon oF tues., may 19

voting closes at 5 p.m. on tues., may 26

usicRow is pleased to announce the nominees for the 27th annual MusicRow Awards, Nashville’s longest running music industry trade publication honors. The 2015 award winners, voted on exclusively by Subscriber Members of the publication, will be revealed during a

ceremony at ASCAP on Tuesday, June 23 at 5:30 p.m. Awards will be presented for Breakthrough Songwriter, Breakthrough Artist, Producer of the Year, Song of the Year, and the Top Ten Album All-Star Musicians. “It’s an honor for us to celebrate the incredible talent in our industry and present the MusicRow Awards for the 27th year,” said Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. “Having a platform where industry peers can spotlight the accomplishments of respected artists, songwriters, songs and producers makes this event very special. These awards also give us an opportunity to salute the top musicians that are such an important part of our industry’s success.” The BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER award honors a writer who had his or her first Top 10 hit during the eligibility period (May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015), but the nominees are hardly overnight success stories. Michael Carter, longtime band leader for Luke Bryan, scored three No. 1 hits as a songwriter that helped him qualify for nomination. He had a hand in writing Bryan’s “Roller Coaster” and Thomas Rhett’s “Get Me Some of That.” Carter is also producer for last year’s Breakthrough Songwriter Cole Swindell, and co-writer of Swindell’s hit “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.” Swindell returns this year as a Breakthrough Artist nominee. (continued on page 4)

M

BRANDY CLARK WON BREAKTHROUGH

ARTIST OF THE YEAR AT THE 2014 MUSICROW

AWARDS HELD AT BMI.

THE 2013 MUSICROW AWARDS WERE HELD AT ASCAP, WHERE KACEY MUSGRAVES WON

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST AND BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER.

IN 2012, MUSICROW PRESENTED ITS

24TH ANNUAL MUSICROW AWARDS IN

FRONT OF A PACKED HOUSE AT BMI.

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Also garnering a cut by Swindell were rising songwriters Josh Martin and Adam Sanders who teamed with the artist to pen his latest smash “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey.” Heather Morgan is the sole female vying for Breakthrough Songwriter honors, as a co-writer of Brett Eldredge’s No. 1 “Beat Of The Music.” Also earning their first top 10 hits during the eligibility period were Justin Weaver and Jesse Frasure, whose respective songs went all the way to No. 1. Weaver co-wrote the thumpping Brantley Gilbert hit “Bottoms Up.” After tallying album credits as a writer and producer for years, Frasure scored a charttopper with “Sun Daze” by Florida Georgia Line. Nominees Brent Anderson and Ryan Hurd are co-writers on “Lonely Tonight,” recorded by Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe, which reached No. 1 at country radio. Additionally, Hurd scored Top 10s on the MusicRow chart with “Later On” (The Swon Brothers) and “Payback” (Rascal Flatts). Before Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Matthew Ramsey and Brad Tursi started climbing the radio charts with their band Old Dominion, they penned their first top 10 hits recorded by other artists. Ramsey co-wrote “Chainsaw,” recorded by The Band Perry, and “Say You Do,” recorded by Dierks Bentley, both of which went No. 1 on MusicRow’s chart. Tursi is in the middle of major hit with Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks Into A Bar.” The BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST category is stacked with entertainers who are also talented tunesmiths, having co-written almost all of their debut albums. The fastest rising female act in eight years, Maddie & Tae scored with sassy debut single “Girl In A Country Song.” It reached No. 1 at country radio, sold over 600K downloads, and reeled in over 22 million VEVO views of the video. They co-wrote all four titles on their EP, and earned an ACM nod for Vocal Duo of The Year. They are about to head out on Dierks Bentley’s Sounds of Summer Tour. Kelsea Ballerini’s self-penned debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It” is quickly scaling the country radio and sales charts, as she preps today’s (May 19) release of her debut album, The First Time. She is co-headlining the career-boosting CMT Next Women of Country Tour. Chase Rice’s album, Ignite The Night,

debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums. It yielded the Platinum-certified, Top 5 hit “Ready Set Roll” and new follow-up single “Gonna Wanna Tonight.” He sold out nearly every stop on his own Ignite The Night Tour last year, and will keep the momentum going on Kenny Chesney’s The Big Revival Tour this summer. Sam Hunt’s Montevallo is the best-selling country debut album since 2011, and the best-selling country album of 2015, with sales topping 500K. The Georgia native earned back-to-back Platinum singles

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with “Leave the Night On” and “Take Your Time.” Hunt co-wrote every song on his album, including “Cop Car,” made famous by Keith Urban. He also has writing credit on the Billy Currington hit “We Are Tonight.” Hunt spent the fall on the CMT tour with Kip Moore. Cole Swindell, MusicRow’s 2014 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, is back with a nomination for Breakthrough Artist after a blockbuster year. He earned three straight No. 1s: Platinum-certified “Chillin’ It” and Gold certified “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey,” and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.” As a songwriter, he has credits including “This Is How We Roll” (Florida Georgia Line ft. Luke Bryan), “Roller Coaster” (Bryan) and “Get Me Some of That” (Thomas Rhett), the latter two penned with Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Michael Carter. Next up Swindell will head out on tours headlined by Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney. This year’s PRODUCER OF THE YEAR nominees kept sounds fresh for superstars and gave cache to the genre’s next headliners. Veteran studio whizes Byron Gallimore and Frank Liddell had stellar years, helping their respective longtime artist collaborators, Tim McGraw and Miranda Lambert, turn in innovative albums. Gallimore also led studio efforts for his own Streamsound artists Kristian Bush and Austin Webb, while Liddell helmed quality

projects by wife Lee Ann Womack, David Nail and Stoney LaRue. A few of the Producer of the Year nominees collaborated with other nominees on this list. Shane McAnally produced Breakthrough Artist nominee Sam Hunt, as well as rising band Old Dominion, which includes Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Matthew Ramsey and Brad Tursi. McAnally also co-produced 2013 Breakthrough Artist winner Kacey Musgraves. Jay Joyce produced Little Big Town’s latest album, which includes Song of the Year nominee “Girl Crush.” Joyce also reunited with longtime collaborator Eric Church and worked with Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett and Brothers Osborne. Joyce and fellow Producer nominee Ross Copperman each helmed tracks for Keith Urban, who tapped a myrid of producers for his latest album. Additionally, first-time nominee Copperman worked with Eli Young Band and helped Dierks Bentley conjure a new sound. The SONG OF THE YEAR category is filled with frequent collaborators. It’s no surprise “Girl Crush” was written by a trio of songwriters who write together so often they are collectively known as The Love Junkies. Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey penned the ballad of lustful jealousy and Little Big Town took it to No. 1.

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CONGRATULATIONS

RODNEY CLAWSON & CHRIS TOMPKINSWRITTEN BY

SONG OF THE YEAR NOMINEE FOR “DIRT”

“SUN DAZE”

CONGRATULATES JESSE FRASURE

BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION

“SUN DAZE”

MAJOR BOB MUSIC

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Likewise, Jaren Johnston, Jeffrey Steele and Tom Douglas write together often. They are the minds behind “Raise Em Up,” a thoughtful montage about raising everything from a whiskey glass to a child. Keith Urban ft. Eric Church made it a radio hit. After a track record of success, Chris Tompkins and Rodney Clawson re-teamed for “Dirt,” filled with meaningful imagery of football fields, farms and burial. Florida Georgia Line made the song famous. Frequent co-writers Chris DeStefano and Brett James had the idea for a song called “Something in the Water” at one of their regular appointments, but co-writer Carrie Underwood brought the twist of fate to the session, suggesting the phrase meant the bapitsmal water. She recorded the song and it went straight to No. 1. Songwriter/producer Kevin Kadish didn’t know what to expect when he was paired with a young new artist named Meghan Trainor. They hit it off so quickly they ended up co-writing most of her debut album, which he also produced, including the mega-hit “All About That Bass,” which is now vying for Song of the Year. The MusicRow Awards are often a key predictor for select CMA Awards. In past years Song of the Year honors at both ceremonies went to “I Drive Your Truck” (2013), “If I Die Young” (2011), “The House That Built Me” (2010) and “In Color”

(2009). Almost every year since 2006, MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist winners also received the CMA New Artist/Horizon Award later the same year, including Kacey Musgraves (2013), The Band Perry (2011), Zac Brown Band (2010), Lady Antebellum (2008), Taylor Swift (2007), and Carrie Underwood (2006). Last year’s MusicRow Award winners were Breakthrough Artist Brandy Clark, Producer Frank Liddell, Breakthrough Songwriters (tie) Nicolle Galyon and Cole Swindell, and Song of the Year “All Kinds Of Kinds” by Phillip Coleman and Don Henry, published by Carnival Music and Warner-Tamerlane. In 2015, awards nominees were selected by MusicRow editors and critics. Additionally, outside nominations were considered for the Breakthrough Songwriter category, with MusicRow determining the final nominees. The Top Ten Album All-Star Musicians are determined by tallying which musicians played on the most Top Ten albums during the eligibility period. The eligibility period is May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015. Subscribed Members of MusicRow will be emailed a ballot later today (May 19). Voting closes at 5 p.m. on Tues., May 26. If not already a Subscribed Member of MusicRow, click here to subscribe and receive your ballot.

AND THE NOMINEES ARE...

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CATEGORY 1PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Ross Copperman

Byron Gallimore

Jay Joyce(Keith Urban, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Cage The Elephant, Halestorm)

Frank Liddell (Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, David Nail, Stoney LaRue)

Shane McAnally

To honor a naShVILLE ProducEr’S work on aLbumS acTIVE durIng ThE awardS TImE PErIod. can IncLudE, buT noT LImITEd To, SIngLE charT PErformancE and aLbum SaLES.

(Tim McGraw, Kristian Bush, Austin Webb)

(Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Eli Young Band)

(Sam Hunt, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion)

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CATEGORY 2BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER

Brent AndersonSea Gayle Publishing “Lonely Tonight,” recorded by Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe

Michael Carter Sony/ATV“Get Me Some of That,” recorded by Thomas Rhett“Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” recorded by Cole Swindell“Roller Coaster,” recorded by Luke Bryan

Jesse Frasure Major Bob Music“Sun Daze,” recorded by Florida Georgia Line

Ryan Hurd UMPG“Lonely Tonight,” recorded by Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe“Later On,” recorded by The Swon Brothers“Payback,” recorded by Rascal Flatts

Josh MartinSelf Published“Ain’t Worth The Whiskey,” recorded by Cole Swindell

Heather Morgan Sony/ATV“Beat Of The Music,” recorded by Brett Eldredge

Matthew RamseySMACKSongs“Chainsaw,” recorded by The Band Perry“Say You Do,” recorded by Dierks Bentley

Adam SandersBig Yellow Dog“Ain’t Worth The Whiskey,” recorded by Cole Swindell

Brad TursiBig Deal Music “A Guy Walks Into A Bar,” recorded by Tyler Farr

Justin WeaverWarner/Chappell, Cornman Music“Bottoms Up,” recorded by Brantley Gilbert

To honor a naShVILLE SongwrITEr who for ThE fIrST TImE wroTE or co-wroTE a ToP 10 Song.

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CONGRATULATIONS

ON YOURBREAKTHROUGH

ARTIST OF THE YEARNOMINATION

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BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Congratulates OUR

BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP

IN JUST TEN SHORT MONTHS...OVER 800,000 TOTAL SINGLE SALES • OVER 60 MILLION STREAMS

OVER 25 MILLION VIDEO STREAMS OVER 1.1 BILLION AUDIENCE IMPRESSION AT COUNTRY RADIO

THE FASTEST FEMALE #1 IN 7 YEARS “GIRL IN A COUNTRY SONG”

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CATEGORY 3SONG OF THE YEAR

“All About That Bass” Writers: Kevin Kadish, Meghan Trainor Publishers: Over Thought, Under-Appreciated Songs, Sony/ATV, Allegro, Year of the Dog Music, MTrain MusicRecorded by Meghan Trainor (Epic Records);Producer: Kevin Kadish

“Dirt” Writers: Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins Publishers: Big Loud Songs, Play Animal, Big Red Toe, Farm TownRecorded by Florida Georgia Line (Republic Nashville); Producer: Joey Moi

“Girl Crush” Writers: Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz RosePublishers: Warner-Tamerlane, Songs of Crazy Girl, Songs of Universal, Hoodie, HillarodyRathbone, BMGRecorded by Little Big Town (Capitol Nashville); Producer: Jay Joyce

“Raise Em Up” Writers: Jaren Johnston, Jeffrey Steele, Tom DouglasPublishers: Sony-ATV Harmony, Texa Rae, Jeffrey Steele, BPJ, tomdouglasmusicRecorded by Keith Urban ft. Eric Church (Capitol Nashville);Producers: Nathan Chapman, Keith Urban

“Something In The Water” Writers: Chris DeStefano, Brett James, Carrie Underwood Publishers: Carrie-Okie, EMI April, Sugar Glider, Sony/ATV, WBRecorded by Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville); Producer: Mark Bright

To honor naShVILLE wrITErS and PubLIShErS on ThE crafT of SongwrITIng, noT nEcESSarILy charT PoSITIon.

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CONGRATULATIONS FROM YOUR

FAMILY

DEBUT ALBUM FEATURING THE SMASH HIT “LOVE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT”

AVAILABLE NOW

congratulationsBreakthrough Artist Nominee

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CATEGORY 4BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST

Kelsea Ballerini (BLACK RIVER)

Sam Hunt (UMG NASHVILLE)

Maddie & Tae(BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP)

Chase Rice (SONY MUSIC NASHVILLE)

Cole Swindell(WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE)

To honor a naShVILLE arTIST who achIEVEd SIgnIfIcanT carEEr ProgrESS for ThE fIrST TImE.

PAST WINNERSAwards were selected by critics until 2008, when they became reader voted.

Producer Honor RollProducer scoring the most Top 20 singles and Top 10 albums for each year.1982-89: Jimmy Bowen1990: Tony Brown1991-92: Allen Reynolds1993: Tony Brown1994: James Stroud1995: Allen Reynolds1996: Tony Brown1997: Wilbur C. Rimes1998: No award presented

(Becomes Producer of the Year in 1999)

Producer of the YearTo honor a producer’s work on albums active during the awards time period. Can include, but is not limited to, single chart performance and album sales.1999: Byron Gallimore2000: Byron Gallimore2001: Mark Wright2002: Keith Stegall2003: James Stroud2004: Buddy Cannon2005: Frank Rogers2006: Dann Huff2007: Byron Gallimore2008: Frank Rogers2009: Frank Rogers2010: Frank Liddell & Mike Wrucke2011: Paul Worley2012: Frank Liddell2013: Dann Huff2014: Frank Liddell

Top SongwritersSongwriter scoring the most Top 20 singles for each year.1985: Troy Seals1986: Dave Loggins1987-90: Don Schlitz1991: Pat Alger1992: Garth Brooks1993: Clint Black1994: Gary Burr1995: Tom Shapiro1996: Mark D. Sanders1997: Craig Wiseman

(Category merged with Breakthrough Songwriter in 1998)

Breakthrough SongwriterTo honor a Nashville songwriter(s) who, for the first time in their career, wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song.1996: Jim Lauderdale1997: Cathy Majeski, Sunny Russ, Stephony Smith1998: Harley Allen1999: Phil Vassar2000: Carolyn Dawn Johnson2001: Troy Verges2002: Anthony Smith2003: Lee Thomas Miller2004: Jim Brown/Don Rollins2005: Vicky McGehee2006: Jason Matthews2007: Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear2008: Luke Bryan2009: James Otto 2010: Chris Young2011: Kimberly Perry2012: Johnny Bulford and Phil Barton2013: Kacey Musgraves2014: Nicolle Galyon and Cole Swindell (tie)

Critics’ Pick/New ArtistTo recognize an outstanding new artist who released their first single in the awards year.2000: Eric Heatherly2001: Mark McGuinn2002: Blake Shelton2003: Joe Nichols2004: Buddy Jewell2005: Miranda Lambert2006: Carrie Underwood2007: Taylor Swift

(Becomes Breakthrough Artist in 2008)

Breakthrough ArtistVoted by readers to honor an artist who achieved significant career progress for the first time.2008: Lady Antebellum2009: Jamey Johnson 2010: Zac Brown Band2011: The Band Perry2012: Eli Young Band2013: Kacey Musgraves2014: Brandy Clark

Song of the YearTo honor writers and publishers on the craft of songwriting, not necessarily chart position.1996: “What Mattered Most,” written by Vince Melamed,

Gary Burr; published by MCA Music, Patrick Joseph Music

(continued on page 27)

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1997: “Friends,” written by Jerry Holland; published by That’s A Smash Publishing, Mike Curb Music

1998: “Something That We Do,” written by Clint Black, Skip Ewing; published by Blackened Music, Opryland Music Group

1999: “Don’t Laugh At Me,” written by Allen Shamblin, Steve Seskin; published by Built On Rock Music, David Aaron Music, Love This Town Music

2000: “He Didn’t Have To Be,” written by Brad Paisley, Kelley Lovelace; published by EMI April Music, Sea Gayle Music, Love Ranch Music

2001: “There Is No Arizona,” written by Jamie O’Neal, Shaye Smith, Lisa Drew; published by EMI Music, Zomba Music

2002: “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning),” written by Alan Jackson; published by EMI Music Publishing

2003: “Red Ragtop,” written by Jason White; published by Sony/ATV Music

2004: “Almost Home,” written by Craig Morgan, Kerry Kurt Phillips; published by Magic Mustang Music Inc., Sufferin’ Succotash Songs

2005: “Whiskey Lullaby,” written by Bill Anderson, Jon Randall; published by Sony/ATV-Tree, Mr. Bubba, Reynsong, Who Ya Say, Wrensong

2006: “What Hurts The Most,” written by Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson; published by Songs of Windswept Pacific, Almo Music Corp.

2007: “Stealing Kisses,” written by Lori McKenna; published by Melanie Howard Music, Inc.

2008: “Letter To Me,” written by Brad Paisley; published by EMI April Music, New Sea Gayle Music

2009: “In Color,” written by Jamey Johnson, James Otto, Lee Thomas Miller; published by New Songs of Sea Gayle, EMI Blackwood, Warner Tamerlane, Eldorotto Music

2010: “The House That Built Me,” written by Allen Shamblin, Tom Douglas; published by Sony/ ATV-Tree Publishing Co., Tomdouglasmusic, Built On Rock Music

2011: “If I Die Young,” written by Kimberly Perry; published by Pearlfeather, Rio Bravo

2012: “You and Tequila,” written by Deana Carter and Matraca Berg; published by Deanaling Music, Hannaberg Music, Songs of Universal Inc., WB Music Corp

2013: (tie) “I Drive Your Truck,” written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary; published by Vistaville Music, Happy Tears Music, EMI Blackwood, Watch This Girl Publishing, Great Day At This Time Music, Beattyville Music. “Merry Go ‘Round,” written by Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally; published by 351 Music, Warner Tamerlane, Crazy Water Music, Little Blue Egg, Universal Music, Want A Fresh One

2014: “All Kinds Of Kinds,” written by Phillip Coleman and Don Henry; published by Carnival Music, Warner-Tamerlane

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